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About the Authors:
Man-Yeon Choi
* E-mail: [email protected] (MC); [email protected] (RVM)
Affiliation: USDA-ARS, Center of Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, Florida, United States of America
Robert K. Vander Meer
* E-mail: [email protected] (MC); [email protected] (RVM)
Affiliation: USDA-ARS, Center of Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, Florida, United States of America
Introduction
Pheromones are a subset of semiochemicals produced by organisms for communication within members of the same species. Since the first pheromone was identified over 50 years ago [1], pheromone research has been expanded tremendously in animal and plant taxa, especially insects [2], [3]. While pheromone identification and their elicited behaviors are well known for a wide variety of insects, the regulation of pheromone biosynthesis is poorly understood and is limited to some lepidopteran moths [4]–[6] For these moth species a neuropeptide hormone stimulates sex pheromone biosynthesis in female adults [7], [8]. This neuropeptide was named pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN), it is synthesized in the subesophageal ganglion (SG) and released into the hemolymph to reach a target site, e.g., a pheromone gland [8]–[10]. PBAN/pyrokinin genes appear to be ubiquitous in insects and produce three or four peptides in addition to PBAN [11], [12]. These peptides share a common functional epitope (FXPRL-NH2) or similar sequence at the C-termini [13], [14], which characterizes the PBAN/pyrokinin family of peptides [8], [15]. The PBAN/pyrokinin peptide family has been found in a variety of insect Orders, and to date over 200 PBAN/pyrokinin family peptides have been reported from over 40 species (from GenBank, unpublished). In addition to regulation of sex pheromone biosynthesis in female moths, several other physiological functions for this family of peptides have been demonstrated, for example: (a) induction of melanization in moth larvae [16], [17]; (b) induction of diapause egg in moths [18], [19]; (c) stimulation of visceral muscle contraction in cockroaches [20]; (d) acceleration of puparium formation in the flesh fly [21]; and (e) termination of development of pupal diapause in heliothine moths [22]. However, their involvement in the control of pheromone production has only been demonstrated for moth PBAN where it stimulates the biosynthesis of the sex pheromone [9], [10].
Like other social insects, the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, evolved complex pheromone communication systems for resource procurement, maintenance of social structure, and territoriality. Much is...